The Alpha and The Omega

A comes before B. B follows A. This is the essence of sequential ordering. You might say that B's being B is a direct consequence or undeviating result of A's being A. Its happening and meaning comes from its context. We prepared and distributed a musical documentation entitled A Collision. It would be anarchical nonsense to have begun with B Collision. And thus, B follows A. It heaves its inspiration and signification from that which was ordered before it. It consists of a number of songs. Most of them rendered in the acoustical fashion. Simple constructions. Wood and metal strings. Vibrating the air.....Wood and metal singing. Moving the air. Telling of how things will be ok. Regardless of how they seem right now. Something will follow. We are in sequence. And it just so happens we know the beginning and the end. (From the CD cover of B Collision by the David Crowder*Band)

Maybe that didn't make much sense to you. If you don't know much about the David Crowder*Band then you probably won't grasp entirely what it's talking about. Mostly I just want to emphasize what he said about sequence. If I started singing the ABCs you would know what order things were coming. If I were to begin counting you would know that "1" comes first and "2" follows "1" and so on. The thing is, "we are in sequence. And it just so happens we know the beginning and the end." We know how life begins. And we know what sort of tragic happening will eventually come to us all.

Solomon talks a lot about this in Ecclesiastes chapter nine. He says that "the same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad." He says that "good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don't."(9:2) And he says that "it seems so tragic that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate."(9:3)

Now, maybe I've just brought a cloud to your sunny day, but this is a realization that we all come to at some point. "Someday my life will be over. I am going to die." Maybe you were having a great day and now you're sitting here, reading about how someday you're going to die. Think about the typical old man. When I think about an old man I think about someone who has lived a lot and has gathered much wisdom from his experiences. I think about someone who is somehow completely selfless, someone who thinks only of others. And I wonder how it is he came to being so. The truth is, it probably comes from this realization. The realization that he is standing on the edge of his life and he will soon be gone. So he no longer thinks of himself so highly, instead he willingly gives things to his friends, his sons, his daughters, his grandchildren. My grandparents are some of the most selfless people I know. I only wish I could see life the way they see it.

I think the fact that everyone dies is something that leads men and women to atheism. They feel (or fear) that all they will ever have is here and now, so they just have their fun and don't worry about being righteous or making promises to God. Solomon thinks so too. He says, "that is why people are not more careful to be good. Instead they choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway."(9:3) And that seems to be true judging only from what we know in this life.

Let's talk about sequence again. We know that "A" is before "B" and that "2" follows "1." We know there is birth and there is death. We know there is a beginning and an end. Let me brag a little bit about my theatrical debut earlier this month. Our school did a production of Godspell (a musical based on Matthew) and I managed to play the role of Jesus. One of my favorite things about our specific production of Godspell were the costumes, mine specifically. During Act I my shirt had an Alpha (the first letter in the Greek alphabet). During Act II my shirt had an Omega (the last letter in the Greek alphabet). The reason for this is because Jesus says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." (Revelation 22:13) What exactly does this mean?

Considering all that we've already talked about sequence this means that Jesus is life and death, or that he is above and beyond both of them. In Romans chapter six it says that Christ died and "was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God." (6:9-10) Death had no power over Jesus, because he is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega.

Solomon was upset and frustrated that the same fate seems to belong to everyone. Atheists believe that here and now is the only thing that exists, and they have no hope for the future. Paul wrote about this. He says, "We want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died." (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)

Jesus broke the power of death and because of this we have the hope of life. Death in this world may seem like the end of the sequence, but Jesus is more than that. Jesus is the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega. With Him we can be so much more than the simple sequence of this life.

After Godspell was over Rosemary, my step-mom, gave me a lovely charm. I put it on my key ring and keep it in my pocket. It serves as an awesome reminder of how Jesus is so much more than just a man who walked on Earth and taught a bunch of new ideas. Ever since playing Him in Godspell I've felt a whole lot closer to Him and I feel like I understand a little bit more of what He went through. He is the Son of God. He died for our sins. He was raised and broke the power of death. He is the Alpha and Omega. And because of Him I have a hope of so much more after this life!